Utica City Hall becomes 'tropical rainforest'

Some City Hall and Mohawk Valley Water Authority employees early this week found their offices drenched with water.

Renee Gamela

Some City Hall and Mohawk Valley Water Authority employees early this week found their offices drenched with water.

Deputy City Engineer Michael Mahoney said the building's cooling tower malfunctioned sometime Sunday, pouring water through ceiling tiles in several parts of the building.

“I can't tell you how many gallons it was, but it came down and it was like a tropical rainforest,” Mahoney said Thursday afternoon.

The water authority is a third-floor tenant at City Hall. Some of their offices, along with the city's Urban and Economic Development department, Comptroller's Office and parts of Engineering experienced flooding, Mahoney said.

Office furniture from economic development, which is located on the second floor, sat Thursday in the hallway. No one could go into the office because asbestos abatement was taking place, and the entire department is working from other offices and conference rooms, Mahoney said.

“This building is heavily laden with asbestos, and the city needs a plan to abate the building,” he said.

The city has a contract with Midlantic Environmental for its asbestos cleanup, Mahoney said. No ceiling tiles dropped, and the air was tested to ensure there was no health risk, he said.

Water authority Executive Director Patrick Becher said the authority was able to salvage most of its records, but some furniture will need to be replaced. The city had planned to replace the chiller and cooling tower this fall.

“Unfortunately, it's just one of those situations where the system didn't want to wait long enough,” Becher said. “It's one of those things you don't want to happen, but all in all it could be have been worse.”

Mayor David Roefaro said the city is addressing the situation, and new ceilings will have to be replaced in areas that experienced flooding as well as carpeting.

The city's insurance will cover most of the damage, and it will take about four weeks to abate flooded areas, Mahoney said.

By midday Tuesday, the displaced employees had their computers and phones hooked up at their temporary locations, Mahoney said.